Miniature coil wound springs are used in mechanical applications such as firing and failsafe devices, medical devices, compact electronic controls, precision instruments, firearms, pharmaceutical delivery devices, aerospace and marine components, and petro-chemical processes. Commercially available spring test systems lack sufficient force resolution or cyclic test capabilities for these miniature scale springs.
Traditional spring testers work on the basis of compressing (or extending) a spring to a known deflection and recording that force value. Then moving to second known deflection and recording that force value. This is done manually by a user and has no capability of automation or fatigue.
At this time, no spring tester has been developed that can accurately access the performance of miniature springs for quality assurance and product acceptance while at the same time measuring their fatigue performance.
A need remains, therefore, for a spring tester with improved accuracy and precision that can serve as a means for product acceptance and inspection while at the same time being capable of evaluating the cyclic degradation of springs, such as the change in the spring rate over time and how and when failure will occur.